wish fulfillment

noun

1. gratification of desires.
2. Psychoanalysis. the drive to free oneself from tension caused by instinctual needs, as sex.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wish fulfillment¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

And like most bubbles, it has more to do with wish fulfillment than reality.

From The Daily Beast

A great side-benefit to the gruel of writing fiction is the fleeting moments of wish fulfillment the empty page provides.

From The Daily Beast

Cain might just be for conservatives what Barack Obama was for liberals in 2008—a kind of wish-fulfillment candidate.

From The Daily Beast

“A lot of it is wish fulfillment for the readers,” said a high-level editor in the celebrity magazine universe.

From The Daily Beast

A number of other dreams recorded by the patient manifest simple wish fulfillment and are of no especial interest.

From Project Gutenberg

Something inside my brain was sucking all my strength in one tremendous, surging power-dive of wish fulfillment.

From Project Gutenberg

Of course it is unbelievable that the wish-fulfillment characteristic has not been noted by writers on the dream.

From Project Gutenberg

We very recently subjected a number of dreams to interpretation, but left wish-fulfillment entirely out of consideration.

From Project Gutenberg

Perhaps you now say that at this rate, not very much of the famed wish-fulfillment is left.

From Project Gutenberg